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Erdogan in Germany: What you need to know about DITIB mosque association

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is opening a new central mosque in Cologne. DITIB, a controversial Turkish-Islamic umbrella group, provides the financing and imams. But what is DITIB?

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Inspired by a flower bud

The building was designed with glass walls and a staircase accessible from the street, symbolizing openness to people of all religions. It features two 55-meter (60-yard) minarets and a dome of glass and concrete which appears to open like a flower bud.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Ehrenfeld's mix of cultures

The mosque is located in Cologne's Ehrenfeld district, a formerly a working-class quarter. Ehrenfeld suffered a rise in unemployment and poverty when factories closed in the 1970s. Some time later, however, low rent prices lured in artists, galleries and theaters, ultimately gentrifying the area. Today, 35 percent of locals there have an immigrant background.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Impressive plans

The construction was funded by hundreds of Muslim associations, but also bank loans and donations from the Turkish government's religious affairs authority in Germany, DITIB. Cologne city council approved the plans in 2008, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, the conservative Christian Democrats, voting against it.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Architect drops out after row with Turkish association

Architect Paul Böhm, who specializes in building churches, won the contract in 2005. He saw the building as an act of integration. He later fell out with the new leadership of DITIB and stopped working on the project in 2011.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Doors opened in 2017

The mosque first opened for prayer during Ramadan in 2017, but was only officially opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Germany in September 2018.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Room for 1,200 worshippers

Inside the mosque, there's a prayer area which takes up both the ground and the upper floor, with the two sections connected by a well in the center of the building's glass front. The compound houses an Islamic library. There are also shops and sports facilities intended to foster interactions among people of different faiths.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

New skyline

Some residents were shocked by the sheer size of the construction when the plans were first presented, especially the height of the minarets, and feared a change in the skyline of their "Christian city." Then-Cardinal Joachim Meisner, the archbishop of Cologne, admitted to having "an uneasy feeling" about the project.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Right-wing protesters oppose the mosque

Right-wing politicians picked up on the sentiment and launched a heated debate about the integration of Muslims in Germany. Author Ralph Giordano said the mosque would be "an expression of the creeping Islamization" in the country.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Imams or spies?

In 2017, German authorities launched an investigation into the activities of DITIB imams, who are schooled in Turkey and paid by the Turkish state, as well as other people working in the Cologne complex. Mosque employees were suspected of spying against Turks living in Germany on behalf of the Turkish goverment.

Author: Rina Goldenberg

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Inspired by a flower bud

The building was designed with glass walls and a staircase accessible from the street, symbolizing openness to people of all religions. It features two 55-meter (60-yard) minarets and a dome of glass and concrete which appears to open like a flower bud.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Ehrenfeld's mix of cultures

The mosque is located in Cologne's Ehrenfeld district, a formerly a working-class quarter. Ehrenfeld suffered a rise in unemployment and poverty when factories closed in the 1970s. Some time later, however, low rent prices lured in artists, galleries and theaters, ultimately gentrifying the area. Today, 35 percent of locals there have an immigrant background.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Impressive plans

The construction was funded by hundreds of Muslim associations, but also bank loans and donations from the Turkish government's religious affairs authority in Germany, DITIB. Cologne city council approved the plans in 2008, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, the conservative Christian Democrats, voting against it.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Architect drops out after row with Turkish association

Architect Paul Böhm, who specializes in building churches, won the contract in 2005. He saw the building as an act of integration. He later fell out with the new leadership of DITIB and stopped working on the project in 2011.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Doors opened in 2017

The mosque first opened for prayer during Ramadan in 2017, but was only officially opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Germany in September 2018.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Room for 1,200 worshippers

Inside the mosque, there's a prayer area which takes up both the ground and the upper floor, with the two sections connected by a well in the center of the building's glass front. The compound houses an Islamic library. There are also shops and sports facilities intended to foster interactions among people of different faiths.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

New skyline

Some residents were shocked by the sheer size of the construction when the plans were first presented, especially the height of the minarets, and feared a change in the skyline of their "Christian city." Then-Cardinal Joachim Meisner, the archbishop of Cologne, admitted to having "an uneasy feeling" about the project.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Right-wing protesters oppose the mosque

Right-wing politicians picked up on the sentiment and launched a heated debate about the integration of Muslims in Germany. Author Ralph Giordano said the mosque would be "an expression of the creeping Islamization" in the country.

Cologne's central mosque: A troubled symbol of unity

Imams or spies?

In 2017, German authorities launched an investigation into the activities of DITIB imams, who are schooled in Turkey and paid by the Turkish state, as well as other people working in the Cologne complex. Mosque employees were suspected of spying against Turks living in Germany on behalf of the Turkish goverment.

Author: Rina Goldenberg

The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) is the largest umbrella organization of mosques in Germany. DITIB manages about 900 mosques in the country, including the central mosque in Cologne, and has about 800,000 members throughout Germany.

Its ties to Turkey are very strong. According to the official research service for the German Bundestag, which has created a register of Islamic organizations in Germany, its charter states that DITIB is "linked to the Turkish government's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet)."

The Diyanet sends Turkish imams to DITIB mosques; the imams' salaries are then paid by the respective Turkish consulate general for the duration of their stay. In other words, the Diyanet determines the theological guidelines behind what is preached in the mosques.

Influential force in Ankara

The Diyanet is a state body for the administration of religious affairs in Turkey and answers directly to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Created in 1924 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish republic, the Diyanet was long known for its moderate interpretation of Islam and widely respected throughout Turkey. However, in recent years the Diyanet has shifted away from its previously rather restrained function. Under Erdogan and his Islamic conservative AKP government, the institution has gained considerably in significance.

Today, the Ankara-based organization has about 120,000 employees who, among other tasks, are responsible for the content of the weekly Friday prayers in Turkey's 85,000 mosques. With an annual budget of more than €1 billion ($1.17 billion), the Diyanet has more money at its disposal than either Turkey's Interior or Foreign Ministry.

Conservative structures

DITIB has come under repeated criticism in recent years, partly because of the Diyanet's influence. Following the Turkish army's invasion of northern Syria in January, the head of the Diyanet urged mosque worshippers to pray for Turkey's victory. DITIB mosques in Germany showed videos of preschoolers in uniform, and events held there in commemoration of World War I seem to have featured re-enacted battles and the praise of "martyrs" as part of proceedings.

Last year, DITIB refused to take part in a protest organized by Muslim associations in Cologne against Islamist terror. Also in 2017, the complete board of the national DITIB youth organization (BDMJ) resigned, accusing the association of suppressing any tendencies toward liberalization.

Watch video01:23

Muslim march against terror attendance short of expected

Authorities remain wary

The extent to which DITIB's internal structures have become aligned with domestic political events in Turkey became clear in the summer of 2016, in the aftermath of the failed coup. DITIB imams allegedly spied on backers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey holds responsible for the attempted coup, within their German congregations. In response, Germany's federal public prosecutor investigated 19 imams.

For years, German authorities have regarded DITIB as an important contact concerning matters of faith and integration, and even provided it with state funding. But that perception has changed in the wake of recent events. Subsidies for DITIB have been drastically reduced. In 2018, the association received about €300,000 ($353,500) from the German government, compared to €1.5 million ($1.8 million) in 2017.

Clearly, DITIB is no longer the poster child for cooperation on issues around integration. When President Erdogan officially opens a new mosque in Cologne on Saturday Armin Laschet, the premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, will not attend the ceremony. While Laschet has often stressed the significance of open exchange and a critical dialogue in international relations, opening a DITIB mosque alongside Erdogan did not seem to be "the right place" for such things, he said.